Jenna Petersen - [Lady Spies] (8 page)

The door to his study opened slightly and his butler
stood in the entryway. “Lord Cliffield to see you, sir.”

Lucas sighed. That was probably best. He wasn’t getting any work done, and perhaps Cliffield had something to share about the case from other agents in the field.

“Very good. Send him in.”

As his servant left to fetch Henry, Lucas took a moment to compose himself. Last night there had been murmurings…very well,
rumblings
about the kiss between Ana and him, but that didn’t mean the news had spread past the ball. Or at least, he had faint hopes that it hadn’t.

Very, very faint.

“You look troubled.”

Lucas looked up as Henry was wheeled into the room. He waved his servant away. Once the man had shut the door behind him, Henry pushed himself forward.

Lucas turned away from Henry’s focused stare, from the ever-present reminder of how he’d failed the best friend he’d ever had. Lucas couldn’t hide facts from Henry when he looked right at him.

“Not troubled,” he reassured him. “Simply tired. And frustrated that this investigation is not progressing. I should have discovered the truth by now!”

He slammed a palm down on the desk top.

“Are you certain that is the only cause for your frustration?” Henry asked.

Lucas turned around to find his friend staring at him, arms folded. He met his gaze evenly, and Lucas
thought he saw the barest flicker of anger in his eyes.

“Yes, of course. This case has been the most important thing in my life for nearly a year, Henry.”

“Well, I heard there might be another distraction.” Henry cocked his head. “There were rumors about a kiss.”

“Damn it.”

Lucas pursed his lips. It had been folly to believe that the sensational gossip at the ball could be contained. Clearly that was not to be. Which meant his attempts to cover up one mistake in this investigation had only caused a deeper, more pressing problem. The case could only be hindered by focused attention.

“Did you plan to keep this from me?” Henry asked.

Lucas arched an eyebrow at his tone. “I had hoped to keep it utterly quiet!”

His friend’s face twitched with annoyance, and immediately Lucas felt himself go on the defensive. It wasn’t as if he was the only one with secrets! What about Henry’s covert investigation behind his back? What about his unnamed resource that said Lord Sansbury was involved in the attacks on the spies even though Lucas had no intelligence that pointed in that direction?

Henry sighed and Lucas looked at him. His best friend. Confined to that wheelchair for the rest of his life. Blast! Why was he even considering those things? Damn Ana for creating questions in his mind.

He softened his tone. “Kissing Anastasia was only a
way to keep our cover when Sansbury came upon us in his study,” he admitted quietly, even though the voice in his head taunted him with what a liar he was. He stifled it with violence. “But now that action will only hinder my case.”

“It’s the talk of the town,” Henry said with a nod.

Lucas raked a hand through his hair. “This is exactly why I resisted this partnership! Something like this never would have occurred if I were alone or even with a male partner!”

Henry laughed. “Well, I should hope not.”

Lucas tried to glare even as a grin tilted his lips.

Henry’s own smile fell and he stroked his chin. “However, it doesn’t necessarily follow that your investigation must be hindered. You could turn this to your advantage.”

Lucas hesitated. That idea had crossed his mind, as well. After all, the gossip about the kiss with Ana had not been malicious or cruel. In fact, Society seemed enamored with the idea that the two of them were falling in love after all her years of mourning and all his attempts to dodge the marriage mart. He had his own ideas about how he could take advantage of the situation.

Of course, they also involved taking full advantage of the desire that had sparked into a wildfire with Ana last night. And he wasn’t sure if that was the best idea considering how powerfully he reacted to his timid little widow.

Still, it couldn’t hurt to hear Henry’s thoughts on the subject. He took a seat at his desk and folded his hands. “How do you propose I do that, Henry?”

His best friend smiled in the same way he always had when the two of them were boys and Henry was about to lead him into all kinds of trouble. And Lucas had a sinking feeling his friend was poised to lead him into even more.

“C
oncentrate,” Ana ordered herself through clenched teeth. “You can do this. You’ve done it a thousand times before.”

She stared at the encoded piece, but the words and symbols swam before her eyes, and she couldn’t find the concentration to make out the very simple code. Finally, she pushed the paper aside with a curse.

Emily was right. Swearing
did
make her feel better. But the relief was fleeting. The moment she stopped pretending to work, her mind returned to the subject she’d been pondering and dreaming of and tormented by for two days.

Lucas. Lucas’s dimples. Lucas’s lips. Oh, and of course, Lucas’s kiss. Her greatest hope had been that a
few days away from his company would make her come back to her senses. But instead of making the strange ache she felt when she recalled the kiss go away, the distance she’d put between them had only served to sharpen the longing, the desire that woke her from restless dreams. And she found herself reliving that kiss more, not less.

She covered her eyes with a groan of frustration. “What the hell do I do now?”

There was nothing to do, was there? Except try to fight the desire that seemed to swirl within her.

The sharp rap of a knock at the door above her rattled her from her troubling thoughts and the equally troubling roads they led her down. It was a relief to be interrupted from both.

“What is it?” she called out.

The door opened and a footman appeared at the top of the stairs. “I’m sorry to disturb you, my lady, but you have a visitor.”

She wrinkled her brow. “Who is it?”

Meredith would have just come below stairs without announcement, and she didn’t expect Charlie until tomorrow. Her servants had been given strict orders that the men who were suddenly leaving cards at her doors were to be told she was not in residence. So that only left—

“Mr. Lucas Tyler, my lady.”

Ana’s heart fluttered wildly as she stared up at the
benign face of the servant who had no idea what turmoil that announcement put her in.

Still, some of her unrest must have been reflected in her face, for he cocked his head and asked, “Should I tell him you are not in residence at present?”

That was a tempting thought, but she doubted Lucas would believe her footman. Aside from which, she had been avoiding the inevitable for too long. There was their case to be considered. She had to work on that for Emily’s sake. If she could only rein in her reactions to Lucas, she might even be able to garner a bit more information on Henry Bowerly.

“Tell Mr. Tyler that I will be up to meet with him momentarily.”

“Very good. He is waiting for you in the East Parlor.” With that, the young man bowed away and left her alone.

Ana slowly smoothed her dress. In the wavy reflection of a mirror on her work space, she made sure she didn’t have any ink on her face and removed her spectacles. But then she couldn’t find any other little chores to keep her from going upstairs, so she trudged up to the main house and down the hall.

She had to be calm. Lucas would be. Certainly
he
hadn’t been pondering that little kiss. He hadn’t seemed at all affected after it happened. There was no use showing how shaken it had left her.

She paused at the sitting room door, took a deep
breath, and walked inside with a smile. “Good morning, Mr. Tyler.”

He was sitting in the green settee by the fire and he seemed to dwarf the feminine piece. It was a slow, sensual unfolding of muscle and sinew as he shoved to his feet. She thought she saw a flash of something in his gray eyes, but then it was gone and he was cool and calm. Just as she had expected.

“Good morning,” he said, his voice gruff. “How is Lady Allington?”

She smiled despite her nervousness. “Improving a small bit every day. The doctor says she is out of danger from the initial injury, though the risk of infection is always hovering. But we have every hope she will make a full recovery in time.”

“Very good.” He nodded once, shifting his weight from foot to foot as if he was nervous. Her eyes narrowed. She hadn’t seen him like this before. Like he wanted to say something, but was trying to find the words.

What if her actions had given Charlie no choice and now Lucas was going to ban her from the case?

He cleared his throat and her heart sank. “Certainly you know that word of our kiss has become public?”

Heat rushed to her cheeks, but Ana forced herself to stand in place and continue looking at him evenly. This was no time to wilt away. She was beginning to learn that.

“Yes. It was the talk of the ball and I saw mention of
it several times in the various gossip sheets.” She sighed. “I did my best to follow your order that night and not react—”

He raised a hand to stop her from speaking. “None of your actions caused this, Anastasia.”

She stopped, surprised by the kindness in his voice and the strange expression on his face as he tilted his head and looked at her. Long and appraising.

Now her urge to turn away was doubled by the emotions beginning to stir in her chest. “I suppose all we can do is minimize the effect. It will make our investigation all the harder, but I’m sure we can work something out.” She shrugged. “Perhaps you can attend one event while I make an appearance at another.”

He shut his eyes with a quiet sigh. “Do you really believe separating will stop the talk?” Before she could answer, he continued, “It won’t.”

She bit her lip. He was right. And if he had come here to tell her she’d been removed from the case, that was probably for the best, too. But how it stung! She hadn’t wanted this, but now the idea of giving up the investigation tore at her.

“So, is this over?” she whispered, fighting the tears that were starting to sting her eyes. The tears he surely saw. “Have I failed?”

Lucas took three long steps toward her and caught her hand. She wasn’t wearing gloves because she’d been doing work in her cellar, so his rough fingers touched her own with no impediment. Instantly, her body melted
the same way it had the night he kissed her. The ache of need started in her bloodstream and settled between her legs where it began to pulse in a most shocking way. Every limb felt heavy, useless, and she couldn’t help but lick her lips as she stared into Lucas’s eyes.

“Listen to me,” he said softly, but she felt his gaze burn on her mouth. “This is
not
your fault. And this case, this investigation and your part in it doesn’t have to end if we use the situation to our advantage.”

Ana shivered. Somehow this didn’t sound like she was going to like it.

“How can we do that?”

He let out a low breath. “For some reason, society is fascinated by the idea of a romance between us. So…let’s give them one.”

The blush that had darkened her cheeks bled away as she stumbled back a step, pulling at her hand. “What?”

He wouldn’t release her. “Think of it, Ana. If we pretend an engagement, that will allow us to hide in plain sight. If we are caught together talking, whispering, people will believe it is because we’re in love. And if the initial interest and the increase in my invitations is any indication, the
ton
’s matrons won’t be able to resist inviting us to every event. That kind of access could be pivotal in this case.”

Ana could hear his words, she understood what he was saying, but it seemed like his voice had been slowed to half time. There was a dull ringing in her ears matched only by the racing of her heart. That
was
not
excitement churning in her stomach. There was nothing thrilling about this!

Yet it thrilled her.

“An engagement?” she whispered, reaching her free hand up to cover her eyes. “This is not happening.”

Lucas released her hand immediately and when she dared to peek at him between her fingers, she saw his jaw had suddenly set with frustration. Almost like her denial irritated him.

“Do you have a better suggestion, Ana?” he snapped, folding his arms across his broad chest and making the heavy fabric of his overcoat flatten against the muscles there. For a moment she was mesmerized, but she forced herself to look away. “Please, do tell me if you have an alternative that is less distasteful to you than pretending to be engaged to me for a few weeks.”

“A few weeks!” she cried, backing away another step. Dear God, she wasn’t sure she could pull off such a deception for a few
days
, let alone a few weeks.

His lips thinned. “Don’t overwhelm me with your enthusiasm.”

She let her hands drop to her sides. “You don’t understand what you are asking of me.”

Her thoughts drifted to Gilbert, just as they had been the past few days. It was bad enough to go around kissing this man…but to involve deeper emotions…even if they were pretending? Gilbert had been the one great love of her life. The only man she had ever wanted and certainly the only one who had ever wanted her back.
Shoving that away was like denying that powerful, once-in-a-lifetime feeling had ever existed.

Wasn’t it?

“I am asking you to do your job,” Lucas snapped. “And yet you are behaving as if I’m taking you to the gallows, not a few balls.”

“To do this would be such a betrayal,” she whispered.

He moved toward her one step and his eyes were lit with fire. “Of whom?”

His voice was so cold, she ventured he’d already guessed.

Lifting her chin, she forced herself to meet his gaze. “My husband.”

His jaw twitched as he clenched it. There was something almost…proprietary, territorial in the way his shoulders stiffened and his back straightened. “You cannot betray a dead man.”

She flinched at the harshness of his words. Tears stung her eyes a second time, but she blinked them back. She would not let Lucas see them. “I already have.”

His brow wrinkled. “With that kiss?”

Slowly, she nodded. There was a long moment of silence, and she did not dare to look at Lucas so she shifted her focus to the floor.

Finally, he spoke. “This engagement wouldn’t be real, Ana. Once we have completed our mission, you can return to your basement. You can go back to being the
mourning widow and use your grief to hide from the world if that pleases you so much.”

She snapped her gaze up at that mocking tone and met his fiery stare. Every fiber of her being told her to snap back. To argue. But she couldn’t. Lucas might be cutting her to the very quick, but he was only stating the truth. She
was
afraid to live again.

Without answering, she started to turn away, wanting to escape that knowing stare. Wanting to separate herself from the burning anger and equally potent desire that so reflected her own faithless heart. But he didn’t let her escape so easily. He caught her arm and forced her to turn back. Pulling her in, he surrounded her with sudden heat.

“It is only a betrayal if you feel something,” he whispered.

Then his lips came down to crush against hers.

The first time he kissed her, it had been a surprise. Not gentle, but not forceful. This time, his lips waged a war against her resistance.

She was lost the moment he swept his tongue over her lips.

Ana opened to him, reveling in the thrusting heat of his tongue, arching into the hard angles of his body as her hands came up to fist the arms of his jacket. She clutched the heavy fabric, clinging to him for support and longing for more. More. More.

What was happening to her? Need and desire had
been there with Gilbert. She had enjoyed his kiss, his touch, the moments they shared in and out of their marital bed. But it had never been like this. This heat that suffused her every pore. This aching, driving need that made her want to tear at Lucas’s clothing, bare herself to him shamelessly.

His hands stroked her back, sparking the nerves along her spine until her knees actually shook. Dear God, if he laid her back on the settee right now, if he lifted her skirts…she wouldn’t resist. And despite that shocking insight that rocked her to her very core, she did not pull away. She couldn’t.

But apparently, he could. Breaking the contact of their lips, Lucas took a long step away. His gaze flickered with serious danger, and she realized she had barely escaped the very fantasy she’d been entertaining. Unlike the first night they kissed, she knew for certain that this meant more. That her touch enflamed him as much as he made her burn.

“Tell me, Ana,” he asked, his voice rough. “Did you feel something?”

She swallowed hard. Did she feel something? She felt everything! It was like her nerves had never been fully alive until the moment he touched her. Like she had been sleeping and he woke her from that slumber with a kiss.

“No,” she whispered and the tremble in her voice was so pronounced that she knew he would hear it and realize what a liar she was.

He smirked and she was right. He knew. A man like him had probably made a hundred women tremble like that in the past. Of course he knew.

“Well, as much as that pains me, my lady, I can tell you the only feelings you inspire in me are desire.” He looked her up and down, and she felt stripped under the intensity of his gaze. “Which I can master. So if you feel nothing and I am able to keep whatever I feel in check, then there can be no betrayal of your
beloved
husband.”

She winced at the mocking that had entered his tone again. She hardly knew this man, yet his opinion of her somehow mattered. And right now he clearly believed she was a simpering hypocrite.

And wasn’t she?

She refused to meet his gaze. “But the plan—”

He shook his head. “It changed, Ana. The plan changed. If we want to have any chance of continuing this investigation, you’ll have to adapt.”

Ana shut her eyes. There was no arguing. She didn’t want to give up the chance to catch whoever caused Emily’s attack. And she had no alternative to Lucas’s suggestion. Even if she did, she was shaking too hard to formulate a reasonable argument.

“Very well,” she whispered, her voice barely carrying.

Lucas stared at her for a long moment, then turned on his heel to go.

“I’ll make certain an announcement is circulated to a few of the papers and that the news makes it to some
key ears. In the mean time, I will send over some snippets of code that were intercepted by agents in the field. Perhaps those will give us clues. Good afternoon.”